Reconstruct — Rebuilding the Case
Sequence the evidence. Repair the timeline. Rebuild the case — cautiously.
The Reconstruct arc trains multilingual writers to rebuild a case from disordered records using controlled past-tense language. Students sequence events with a modelled set of regular simple-past verbs, repair a missing timeline with five core irregular past verbs (went, saw, took, left, found) and plain time language, then connect records with before, after, and when to write a 5–7 sentence case narrative. The arc ends with an integrated performance task — The Folder Run — in which students read three case records together and apply all three lessons at the arc level. Throughout the arc, students hold a strict evidence rule: a reconstruction reports what the records show and states plainly where the evidence stops, and it never makes a claim the records do not support.
Learning goal
Students can sequence records with regular past verbs, repair a missing timeline with the five core irregular past verbs and accurate time language, and write a 5–7 sentence case narrative that distinguishes one evidence gap from one time conflict, states the strongest supported conclusion, and makes no claim the records do not support.
Who it is for
Intermediate ESL/ELD (grades 6–12). Ideal after the Identify and Describe arcs, or as a stand-alone unit before any evidence-based narrative or short-response writing task.
Progression
- RC-01 anchors sequencing with a modelled set of regular simple-past verbs and first / next / then / finally.
- RC-02 repairs a missing timeline with five core irregular past verbs (went, saw, took, left, found) and exact / relative / unknown time labels.
- RC-03 reconciles two overlapping records with one gap and one conflict, and writes a 5–7 sentence case narrative using before, after, and when.
- The Folder Run performance task integrates all three lessons at the arc level, across three records.
What is included
Each lesson includes an 18-slide teacher presentation with slide-specific teacher notes, a 6-page student packet, and a teacher guide with answer key. The arc also includes The Folder Run integrated performance task that pulls RC-01, RC-02, and RC-03 together at the arc level. Members can download this arc's printable files from My Vault: 28 files in all—slide decks with teacher notes, student packets, teacher guides with answer keys, and the arc assessment or performance task where the arc has one. Each file opens through a short-lived, member-verified link. The same arc is also sold as an editable pack on Teachers Pay Teachers.
Lessons in this arc
- RC-01 · Put the Events in Order — Students order four timed lines from one front-office record, then write the sequence using the regular simple-past verbs modelled in the lesson and the markers first, next, then, finally.
- RC-02 · Repair the Missing Timeline — A witness timeline is missing verbs and times. Students repair it using only the five core irregular past verbs (went, saw, took, left, found) and plain time language (yesterday, at, before, after, minutes later), and label each line exact, relative, or unknown. The exact time the folder went into the secure drop box stays unknown.
- RC-03 · Reconstruct the Case — Students reconcile the hallway camera log and the office departure record. Both records log the same event — the student's final departure from the office — so the two times cannot both be right: that is the arc's one time conflict (2:45 p.m. against 2:50 p.m.). The records also hold exactly one evidence gap (no record says when the folder went into the secure drop box). Students connect the agreed events with before, after, and when, then write a 5–7 sentence case narrative that states the strongest supported conclusion and one evidence limit.